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SOUTH SALT LAKE — A Utah man accused of yelling racial slurs and spitting on a woman and her son who were wearing "Muslim clothing" did commit a hate crime, Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill announced Friday.
But because Utah's hate crimes statute has proven to be "toothless" and ineffective for prosecutors, Gill is not charging Robert Lowell Wolcott with a hate crime, per se. Instead, Wolcott, 61, will face victim targeting enhancement penalties, as outlined in Utah law, if he's convicted because he "allegedly selected the victims based on his belief they were not from the United States," he said.
Wolcott was charged Friday in 3rd District Court with two counts of propelling a bodily substance, a class A misdemeanor; intoxication, a class C misdemeanor; and disorderly conduct, an infraction.
On Oct. 27, a woman "wearing traditional Muslim clothing" and her 7-year-old son got off a Utah Transit Authority TRAX train at the Millcreek Station, 210 W. 3300 South. An intoxicated Wolcott "yelled, 'Go back to your country,'" spit on the woman and her son, yelled a profanity at her, "and stumbled away while continuing to say, 'Go back to your country,'" according to charging documents.
UTA police were called to the area when Wolcott — who was previously banned from riding all UTA modes of transportation for 30 days — attempted to get on a bus. While Wolcott was detained by an officer, the woman "who was visibly upset," approached the officer to report what had happened to her.
"He spit on us. Told us to go back to our country and called us every name in the book. All because we are Muslims. I am an American citizen. I am a law abiding citizen. I am a tax payer. I am active in my community," the woman later posted on social media.
Gill said Wolcott's alleged crimes harm not only the victims, but the entire community.
"Hate, in any form, has no place in Salt Lake County," he said. "Hate speech is protected under our Constitution. Hateful action to the criminal harm of others is not and will be prosecuted by this office."
As for using victim enhancement penalties, Gill says it is a more practical tool for prosecutors than the state's hate crimes statute. He notes that his office is seeing success using that tool in prosecuting cases that in layman's terms would be called "hate crimes."
According to the statute, a defendant is subject to enhanced penalties at sentencing if that person "intentionally selects the victim" based on the defendant's belief or perception regarding the victim's personal attributes, such as believing the victim is from another country.
